Globalisation and Development: Recent Debates and Policies Protect the Future!

Eco-politics: radical democracy and participation social justice and solidarity environment future generations Founded in 2000, working with 30 committed activists and staff, and 700 registered supporters Védegylet is…

…a grassroot organisation

…a think-tank

… a ‘party’?

Activities REFUGE: legal assistance and campaigning for preserving local environmental and cultural heritage Ombudsman for Future Generations – and for Europe! Policy proposals, lobbying and campaigning: forestry, agriculture, public services, climate policy Awareness raising, public education: publications, conferences, debates, films, festivals Supporting alternatives, demonstration projects: Fair Trade, organic farming, participative governance

Alterglob Working Group Globalisation: not anti, but critical! Understanding globalisation: publications, conferences, festivals GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services): position papers, lobbying GATS-free zones in Hungary Public services on the market: research and publications Trade policy and fair trade

The project: Capacity building for NGOs & local grass- roots organisations in the Czech Republic and Hungary to raise awareness in development issues. Building capacity for Glopolis (CS) and Védegylet (HU) and their local partners to develop a coherent strategy of awareness raising and knowledge, skills & techniques for agenda setting & influencing public opinion. Organisations involved in the project: Weltwirtschaft, Ökologie & Entwicklung - WEED, Germany (lead org.) Védegylet Egyesület (“Protect the Future”), Hungary (consortium member) 3. Prague Global Policy Institute - Glopolis, Czech Republic

Activities: Course Research Publication Campaigning The course: The course beginning in Autumn, 2007 aims at giving an introduction to: development theories development policies international development institutions meanings of sustainability indicators of development major North-South/development-related issues, such as trade, debt, aid, investment and finance, etc.

Development in CEE Dev is reduced to its economic meaning. Regime change was accompanied by a deep economic depression. Social dev has been relatively high in CEE (‘primature born welfare state’), Regime change led to political dev Environmental quality have improved. However: Economic growth of the past decade has not been able to reduce social inequalities, on the contrary. New ecological problems (climate change) Formal democracy. There is a need to redefine development.

Development in CEE There is a lack of global solidarity and global consciousness in CEE countries. No colonial past: no feeling of responisibility or guilt towards poor countries. ‘Communist solidarity’ devaluated the meaning of international solidarity, global responisbility. Lack of knowledge about the ‘3rd world’. Self-pity and self-centred thinking. However: We are part of the developed world (OECD, EU) Globalisation brings somehow similar challenges everywhere. There is a need to (re)invent our place, our role in global development.

Development in CEE: questions to be answered How far is the crisis of development obvious for people in CEE countries? Is there a crisis anyway? Why (not)? Is there any chance for CEE to find its own development path under the conditions of globalisation? If so, what would be this path? Are there any dev alternatives present here? Who would be the main change agents in this respect? Civil society organisations? Others? What is the relation between them (us)? How can we link our dev problems to global challenges? What kind of dev discourse would best fit our cultural and political legacy? What are the similarities between our problems and the ‘3rd world’? What role could CEE countries play in global dev?